After 3 and had years in business, we are officially recruiting to expand the team. Please forward this on to anyone you think may be interested.

Event Consultant

A great opportunity has arisen for a passionate and creative event professional to join the Simply Kayo London team. If you have experience designing, planning and managing weddings, corporate events and other personal events, you may just be the person we are looking for. If you are passionate about delivering quality, first class service to discerning clients and want to build a career within a luxury events company with a difference, then we would love to hear from you. This flexible virtual role is that of an Event Consultant; responsibilities will include

Sorry it’s taken a while to get this post out but here it is. As you all know, Simply Kayo was an official partner and sponsor of Africa Fashion Week London that took place just over a week ago. The 3 day fashion show culminated in a fundraising Arts and Fashion Banquet at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel on Sunday 4th August.

The event was hosted by Nigerian business woman and socialite Princess Fifi Ejindu, and was in aid of the Georges Malaika Foundation.

It was a lovely night with a delicious 3 course dinner, great company and beautiful centrepieces by Simply Kayo. The ankara centrepieces were a nod to African print and the overall mission of AFWL. Check out the iPhone pictures below. What do you think of Ankara print flowers?

This will serve as a double wammy blog post. We were beaten by Africa Fashion Week London to display the new SK logo under the Partners section of their website. Yes you heard right, Simply Kayo is an official partner of Africa Fashion Week London – very excited!!! See gratuitous screenshot below 🙂

And the first element of our rebrand has been revealed – the new logo. Here it is in all its glory. Only slight differences with our staple SK and flick still in tact but more grown up I think. Let us know what you think of our new logo.

We’ve all heard about the nightmare a friend or family member has had with their wedding guest list. Be it the hours spent formulating the list or the drama finding guests’ seats at the reception. We’ve all heard these scary stories; so here are a few things to consider in order to make sure they don’t happen to you.

Will you be having kids at your wedding? If the answer is no then it is important to let guests with kids know quite quickly so they can make alternative arrangements for them on that day. There’s no need to worry or panic over this. The concept of a ‘no kids wedding’ is not all that new anymore and as long as sufficient notice (and an explanation if you feel it necessary) is given then most guests will understand.

Are there any family feuds you need to be aware of? Are there any disagreements that will require some ‘creativity’ when designing your seating plan? Speak with your fiancé and both sets of parents to make sure you have as much information as possible.

Note down the key people that you want to have there on the day and whose presence you would actually miss.

You don’t want to offend anyone but at the same time you don’t want to go over budget simply inviting people that you feel obliged to invite. Try and find a balance. Remember more guests means more money spent.

When designing your seating plan consider that people who know each other would like to sit together. This may not always be possible but having one other person on a table that you know is always nice.

Remain open to last minute changes; those people you’ve been counting on telling you they can no longer make it, well it gives you the chance to invite some other people that you were not previously able to.

If you have designed a seating plan and your wedding is by invitation only, do make sure you have a spare table or two for uninvited guests at the back. This is ultimately easier than the awkward situation of an invited guest bringing an uninvited guest and them having nowhere to sit. On your day you won’t want this kind of scenario so a few extra seats won’t hurt.

Finally, the key thing to remember is that this is your day; it should be a joyful occasion and when you look around you want to see genuinely happy faces of loved ones and well-wishers. Bear this in mind when creating your guest list. We hope these tips prevent you from having any guest list disasters and more importantly have a beautiful day with those you love.

In the days of old, engagement list items were fairly static, but perhaps differing in quantity and maybe quality. You would see the usual tubars of yam, palm oil, bible and suitcases full of fabric.

Well, the modern Nigerian bride is not being bound by tradition. You can peruse the engagement list of a yuppy bride of 2013 and not surprisingly find the tubars of yam and the bible. But you may just do a double take when you come across “a white iPad mini”

Here are some of the items I have either seen on a list or heard about:-

It may seem somewhat mercenary or a shift away from tradition but I completely understand what these savvy young ladies are thinking. If, her husband to be and his family must buy gifts for her, it may as well be something she wants and/or will actually use. What will she actually do with suitcases upon suitcase filled with lace or Ankara (which probably wont be to her taste)? Why not get that gadget or handbag she’s been lusting after for months. I believe this is the thought process of the modern Nigerian bride when it comes to her engagement gift list. I know I’ll certainly be doing the same when the times comes

I attended a wedding with my aunt and uncle a few weeks ago in Lagos. After a few hours, I commented to my aunt that I had noticed that at Nigerian parties, there is constant flow of different kinds of food. She replied saying, “Yes, without it, a party would be boring.” I said “Well, let me prepare you, when you come for my wedding in London, there wont be this much food” To which she replied, “Even if I have to bring a caterer from Nigeria for your wedding, there must be a constant flow of food.” I laughed then but it got me thinking.

Truly, at parties in Nigeria, food and drink pretty much makes the event. Let me give you the breakdown

-As guests arrive and are seated, they are immediately given bottles of water
-Following that, waiters start to take orders, and plates of food are distributed
-Then soft drinks like coke, fanta, sprite and malt start to make the rounds
-If alcohol is being served, bottles of wine, beer etc also come round.
-After the main meal, dessert follows – all types of milky, creamy goodness
-Then smaller plates of small chops begin their rounds – think puff puff samosas, spring rolls and musa
-Not long after that, cocktails begin to go round – chapman, pina colada, fruit punch etc
-Somewhere down the line, food like ofada rice, tuwo, amala begin to go round
-By now, champagne would have made an appearance on some guest tables
-Asun and/or pepper soup, fish and chips, BBQ chicken and chips will also be introduced into the mix (chips can be swapped with fried yam or plantain)
-Meanwhile, drinks continue to flow
-I even saw an exotic dish of salad with meat on skewers, king prawns and ribs served at a recent reception

So there you have it folks; Nigerian weddings are what people have in mind when they talk of ‘feasting’. In order to make this ‘feast’ a success and please this nation of foodies, a great amount of planning and coordination is required. From an event coordinator’s point of view, here is my experience of what is required for the feast.

1) Experience of vendors – the kind of feast I have described requires fast service. Guests at Nigerian weddings wont accept that the caterer is still frying or plating up, they want service NOW. So be clear that a particular vendor can deliver this for you before you engage them.

2) Ensure vendors attend a vendors meeting at the venue at the latest the week before the wedding – here you brief them on the wedding details, guest numbers, numbers they are specifically catering for, colours, expected arrival times etc

3) Arrive early on the morning of the wedding (7am) to receive your vendors

4) Allocate different spaces to vendors inside the venue and outside. We’ve talked about a large variety of foods meaning lots of food vendors, ensure those serving larger numbers of guests, and earlier are given more prominent/closer places.

5) If vendors are being placed outside, consider canopies being erected to protect them and the food from the elements.

6) It is essential to having running water as invariably there will be a need for caterers to wash dishes, cups and cutlery at some point during the wedding.

7) During the event, various coordinators have to be put in charge of the various food vendors, so that the distribution of food is kept under control and things don’t run out too early. For example, if a caterer has been commissioned to do small chops for 300 guests. They should ideally start by frying for 150 guests so that they have more for later.

8) And finally, prepare for the attitude you will invariably get when you tell some guests that certain foods are no longer available or not immediately available.

There you have it, a coordinator’s helpful guide to serving and pleasing what I can only describe as a nation of foodies.